by Reagan North

I’ve always liked the idea of cooking. If you’ve ever met me, you’re probably thinking that by cooking I mean eating. And your instincts would be correct in the sense that I do like eating, and my cube-ish dimensions prove it. But I’m serious when I say that I do like the idea of cooking. I’ve always enjoyed watching other people prepare food. I watch the Food Network chefs make all kinds of dishes that make me wish I were a world-class chef. There’s nothing worse than your mouth watering over an amazing-looking meal on television only to suppress your saliva glands by going to the pantry and grabbing a bag of cardboard-like tortilla chips. Like I said, I like the idea of cooking, but I don’t have a clue how to do it and, to tell you the truth, I don’t really even try and learn.

It’s one thing to not act on my chef-envy, but it’s another thing entirely to treat my faith in Jesus in the same way. Yet, so often, I find that to be the case. I really like the idea of reading tons of Scripture everyday, but I just don’t seem to get around to it. I love spending time with people who really know the Bible and speak about it as if it were an old friend, yet I rarely memorize Scripture. I long for genuine friendships with non-believers, yet the distance between my front door and the neighbor’s seems somehow insurmountable (and I live in an apartment).

At the Shoreline Campus this fall, we hope to address together the issue of bridging the gap between desire and action. Scripture often uses the Greek word praxis, which refers to the intentional working out of belief. We are commanded to not just be followers of Jesus in our minds and hearts, but in our hands and feet. We want to be a people of praxis.

Starting this Wednesday, September 3^rd, the junior high and high school students involved in Proxy are going to launch out on a journey of praxis. We don’t want to sit and listen and think and agree and feel and desire anymore. We want to act. This year, Proxy is going to be a ministry of action. We are going to explore how following Jesus not only has implications on what we believe, but how we live. If you are a junior high or high school student, join us as we seek to intentionally and actively follow Jesus.

Proxy (ages 11&up)

Schirmer Auditorium

7:00-8:30pm

Wednesdays starting September 3